Ordeal over as Ruby Princess crew members fly home at last

Almost half the crew of the Ruby Princess will be taken off the ship this week and flown out to their home countries.

Relieved crew members from the disease-stricken Ruby Princess cruise ship are taken to a hotel in Sydney before flying out to their home countries. Picture: Simon Bullard

Almost half the crew of the Ruby Princess will be taken off the ship this week and flown out to their home countries, as the troubled liner prepares to leave Australian waters, ending a weeks-long standoff between the cruise compan­y and NSW authorities.

Forty nine members of the ship’s crew walked off the ship at Port Kembla, south of Wollongong, on Tuesday after nearly a month in quarantine on the vessel. They were taken by coach to the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sydney’s CBD, and within hours some were heading for the airport to fly home on chartered flights.

A law-enforcement official said about 500 people would be taken off the ship before it was scheduled to depart NSW waters on Thursday.

NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said most of the crew members taken off the ship on Tuesday were from Canada­, the US, Britain and New Zealand. A small number were Irish and Japanese, he said.

Donning facial masks and visib­ly excited to be off the vessel, the departing crew members were clapped and cheered by colleagues from their balconies before undergoing final screenings at a medical tent established next to the ship. Their luggage, brought onshore by forklift, was sprayed down with disinfectant and temperatures were checked as the crew received a final briefing from police officers before boarding their coach.

“I never thought the day would come,” said one female crew member­ after stepping off the vessel­. “It’s so surreal. It’s slightly overwhelming. (I’m) absolutely delighted, to be honest.”

The development marks the near-conclusion of negotiations that have spanned weeks between the cruise ship’s parent company, Princess Cruises, the NSW Police Force, Australian Border Force, and NSW Health over how the crew members, many of whom have been infected by the virus, should be managed.

Initial concerns suggested that if the virus spread through the ship and infected all 1056 crew, their numbers could overwhelm the state’s healthcare system and depriv­e NSW residents of intensive­ care beds.

The ship has thus remained under quarantine since March 20, the day after it sailed into Sydney Harbour and disembarked nearly 2700 passengers, 19 of whom have since died of COVID-19. At least 600 passengers have tested positive for the virus.

The ship’s arrival scandalised the NSW and federal governments over their perceived mismanagement of biosecurity at maritime ports. A criminal inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the passengers, while a separate special commission of inquiry is examining shortfalls between Princess Cruises and government agencies.

Up to 150 crew members will be brought off tomorrow, followed by several hundred more on the day of departure, when it will set sail for the US.

Of the 49 crew members taken to the Sheraton Grand Hotel on Tuesday, only one had tested positive­ for COVID-19. Police said that person would spend two weeks in quarantine at a Sydney­ hotel and, subject to medical clearance, would then fly home.

An official said NSW taxpayers were not bearing the costs of the flights or the hotel stays.